Article: Joe Benson And The Twins' Hitting Philosophy

[Jham]

I had these same concerns about Danny Valencia.  He seemed to go from trying to drive the ball (7HR in half a season) to just trying to wait and slap.  I feel like Lew Ford might have had a leg kick originally, maybe not...  Denard Span was pretty successful with the Twins, maybe because he had that still wide-stance approach...

[Captain Hindsight]

Noticed the before GIFs were against same handed pitching and the after against opposite handed pitching. Seems like it would be better to compare them equally.

[ALessKosherScott]

For me, the problem with Benson was never really swing mechanics as opposed to approach. The forerunning prospect to Benson was Mike Restovich and the end ceiling for both of them was some kind of version of Tom Brunansky. Neither one was going to hit .300, but their power would make them useful if they could be .250 hitters with good defense in a corner. To get there, both needed to be a little more patient, especially against right-handed pitching, and work themselves into better counts where right-handed pitchers had to respond with fastballs. Neither one could ever do that though, and they didn't walk enough or play defense well enough to justify a roster spot. You could almost say that ABW is the current version of Benson in the system, although he doesn't have the usual kills lefty/struggles against righties splits you'd expect. 

 

Let's hope Benson can figure things out this time around though. 

[Michael (ClassicMNTwins)]

 

I would be curious to see if this is also true of david ortiz

I heard his name fairly screaming in my gray matter while reading this post. Pretty sure DO would respond with: "They wanted me to swing like a little [kitten]."

[dxpavelka]

 

I don't know if it is "worth noting" but the Blue Jays had acquired Troy Tulowitzki when they DFA'd Valencia and he was snapped up by the team with the first option (Oakland). And, if you believe MLB Trade Rumors, Valencia is drawing interest on the market. 

If you believe MLB Trade Rumors EVERYBODY draws interest.  Kind of how MLB Trade Rumors justifies their existance.  If 60% of what they speculated on actually happened I could make a living betting on it.  I'm still at my regular job.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

If you believe MLB Trade Rumors EVERYBODY draws interest.  Kind of how MLB Trade Rumors justifies their existance.  If 60% of what they speculated on actually happened I could make a living betting on it.  I'm still at my regular job.

I believe MLBTR is actually pretty accurate.  For the most part, they are just collecting reports from elsewhere, but they seem to find responsible sources (and their contract value predictions are darn good).

This particular report was from Oakland's local beat writer and simply stated that Valencia and Lawrie are generating trade interest, without any commentary about the level of return they could command, which is a rather uncontroversial statement, I think.

 

(And for the record, the source also said Lawrie is "considered the better bet to be traded" which implies Valencia's trade return would be lower, another opinion that is difficult to dispute.)

[jimbo92107]

What I get from those clips is not just a failure to load up, but a failure to follow through with the rear hip. Compare any of those swings to Adrian Gonzalez, and you'll quickly see the most important difference - hip follow through. That's what allows the bat to square up and travel farther with power and reach through the hitting zone. It's what allows Gonzalez to drive the ball to the gaps and over the fence to all fields. 

 

Now look how all these examples feature either no hip follow through, or a slight hip follow through. This is a terrible way to hit. Not only do you get less bat travel through the zone, you also increase your chances of injuring your torso muscles as you put on the brakes early. The most natural reaction to that style would be to protect yourself by not swinging as hard as you should. Thus, the punchless Minnesota Twins, with both feet rooted in the batter's box. 

[Rosterman]

So that is what happened to Mauer, too!

 

[Minniman]

 

So that is what happened to Mauer, too!

 

Mauer has a compact swing. Perhaps he needs a little more kick.

[dxpavelka]

 

 

 

 

(And for the record, the source also said Lawrie is "considered the better bet to be traded" which implies Valencia's trade return would be lower, another opinion that is difficult to dispute.)

 

Hence the crux of my initial contention that the thought of Valencia having had some sort of "career" type year is/was a bit overblown.

[Parker Hageman]

Hence the crux of my initial contention that the thought of Valencia having had some sort of "career" type year is/was a bit overblown.

 

 

I'm not sure what you are missing here. Valencia, by his standards, had a career year. The statement was not that he suddenly became a hot commodity in the league. Move on.

 

[Oldgoat_MN]

 

By the way, reading this article this morning and then watching Byung-ho Park say during the press conference that he's planning on making some adjustments to his swing made me worry. Of course it's normal, but what kind of adjustments will those be?

 

Kang hit 4 home runs in 2015 from April through June. (with a .262 BA)

He hit 11 more the rest of the season. (with a .307 BA)

 

He said that he was being patient and trying to learn MLB pitching before he got too aggressive. 

 

I hope very much that Park takes the same approach that Kang did. I hope even more that he gets similar results. In Korea, Kang was good. Park was better.

 

[nicksaviking]

I went on vacation after Thanksgiving and missed this masterpiece.  Another gem Parker, thanks for the read and insight.